Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Reviews by beerdrifter:

Picked this up at the beer store at the De Molen Brewery. Slightly hazy copper-amber pour with two finger head, decent retention, and nice lacing. The nose is spot on for an American IPA with lots of citrus, pine, and hops, with a nice solid sweet caramel malt base and just a touch of earthiness. The taste follows suit and is definitely reminiscent of the many great West Coast IPA's. Spicy, resiny, piney hops dominate, with tons of citrus, specifically grapefruit, but a bit of a tropical note as well, with just a touch of rye. The bitterness of the hops is tamed nicely by the sweet caramel malt, making this a pretty well balanced and highly drinkable IPA. The mouthfeel is slightly thick and chewy but very smooth. This is my first ever beer from Beer Here, but I have several more to try and can't wait! (812 characters)

More User Reviews:

A: Dark amber color with a rather small off-white head that sticks around for a while and leaves big chunks of sticky lacings all around the glass as it settles.

S: As I pour it into my glass, hop aromas already start to spread around the room. And surly, the smell is dominated by a fairly "green" aggressive hop profile. Lots of tropical fruits, especially grapefruit, and hop resins. Some pine-needles and perfumy aromas of soap and candlegrease. The malts have a hard time breaking through the hops, but every now end then they make it and delivers notes of caramel and some rye bread. A nice smell, but it's a little aggressive and tangy.

T: The taste is actually way more compliant than I had expected. Of course, it's not mild or bland, but still rather easy to handle. Plenty of semi-green hop aromas abound, but they lack some definition. It's hard to pinpoint any components except for a general taste of tropical fruits and some pine-needles. Lots of soft malts with notes of caramel and rye bread. A hint of vanilla. Lots of sweetness. The finish isn't as bitter as I would have liked it to be, and this is really too bad, because it lowers my impression of the beer. I think the smooth texture and comparably big body alleviates the bitterness to some extent. Plenty of hop resins, pine-needles, lemon-peel and a hint of malts in the finish.

M: The beer is almost ridiculously smooth, almost like velvet. Very gentle carbonation, and this adds to the smoothness and makes the beer seem fuller than most IPA:s. It's not as sticky as most IPA:s either. I like it, but I don't know if it's for the advantage of the hops, I think they are somewhat restrained by it since it mellows everything out.

D: This is a good beer, but I would like to believe that Beer Here can do better than this. I've had other beers from the brewery that had much more interesting and flavorful hop profiles than this one. But still, it's a tasty beer and very easy to drink. (1,977 characters)

A dark amber, almost brown pour, good carbonation, head, average in the lace department. Aroma was woody, not hoppy.

Taste was completely different than the aroma. It was very bitter, and a unique hoppiness to it. A little bit grapefruit, possibly some mint. Couldn't tell the hop varieties. Was very Cali-Belgique, loved the sweetness from the yeast I suspect. A little off the beaten path, but the uniqueness is appreciable here. The bitterness wanes a bit, which is nice, because it was really big and upfront to start. (523 characters)

This beer pours a clear, medium bronzed amber hue, with a teeming tower of overflowing bullshit head, the kind wholly unnecessary in this quality control world of ours, which eventually leaves some weirdly decent patchy swaths of sudsy lace around the glass as it lazily recedes.

The bubbles are rather plain and ineffectual, the body an adequate medium weight, and mostly pithy in its heady attempt at smoothness. It finishes off-dry, barely, the hovering piney, and reduced citrusy hops kind of smothering the lingering caramel malt in its version of an end game.

An agreeable enough RIPA, though the guest malt ingredient doesn't seem to have the normal staying power one might expect from yer average grain. Still, a hoppy affair, that much is true, one who's muddled first impression shouldn't be cause for anything less than an overall rosy appreciation. (1,305 characters)

500ml bottle purchased from Slowbeer and poured into a 16oz schooner glass.

Pours a deep copper colour with a hint of ruby and a solid glow to it. It has a beige head of foam with a hint of yellow and manages some good streaky lacing with good head retention.

Smell is interesting, ever changing and diverse. Rye is the first hit, turning to passionfruit with a touch of fruit salad along with pine resin and then caramel.

Taste doesn't really match up what comes before. Pine resin is first, rye comes late and a distant second.

Mouthfeel is quite unique from what i have come across. The pine resin in the flavour provides some decent upfront bitterness. This is then wiped completely away in the mid and back end with an almost surreal smoothness. It reminds me a touch of real ale as while there is visible carbonation the feel is as though the carbonation is absent. Quite different, cool and intriguing. Is it what to expect and judge a Rye IPA on?

Overall a beer that isn't really the sum of all its parts. A real odd fit. Worth trying to see what you make of it. I'm still surprised at how this all works. (1,120 characters)

A 4oz sample @ Churchkey goes for $5. American IPA from D6.5% etoh, IBU 80...no wwonder I really like it! Reminds me of lil summpin summpin without the sweet ending. It ends dry. I am sampling this on an empty stomach...should be fun! Wings and mint balls to wash it down! (272 characters)

Pours deep amber with a small head.Nose shows loads of piney resin and marmalade along with masses of caramel and toasty malt.Very similar flavours, very sweet with loads of caramel and piney resin. An assertive bitterness does a good job of keeping the malt in check.Carbonation could be a bit higher. Very slick mouthfeel. (327 characters)

Pours a hazy honey brown with a fantastic dense creamy off-white head that falls slowly leaving very healthy amounts of lace. Doesn't get much better than this.

Pine branches and mint, with a touch of passionfruit and pineapple. Tangy butterscotch malts really prominent. Not overly complex but such an inviting mix.

Blunt and oh so dominant earthy pine and citrus rind, with moderate undertones of toothpaste and mouthwash freshness. I don't know whether it's the rye that lobotomises all the other flavours promised by the smell, but it's a serious coup. I'm quite disappointed actually.

In an almost ironic contrast, that is if my suspicions about the impact of the rye on the flavour profile are correct, it's effect on the mouthfeel is terrific. Whatever is responsible, the mouthfeel is viscous and luscious, with perfect carbonation. Mellows the bitter assault of pine and citrus beautifully.

How do I give this an overall score? So much promise from the appearance and aroma but I absolutely can't forgive the butchering of the flavour profile. (1,057 characters)

This is a great session beer - bitterness balanced by mouthfeel and flavour - (described by others). Not overpowering, well balanced. More on the piney flavour side. Very similar to Nogne Two Captains, actually. A good beer - recomended! (at Au$14.90 a bottle, locally, believe me, it's good - not great - but worth while.) (323 characters)

A-- Pours a hazy, murky looking orange amber color. Basically a layer of off white film and ringed collar for head. Aggressive swirling got half a finger and pretty much that was it. Good spotty lacing associated with this. Lots of big carbonation bubbles in the film.

S-- Good malt body, spicy rye, pine, orange and grapefruit. Builds more as it warms and the rye adds a nice dimension to this.

T-- Lacks carbonation. Will say that much. Tastes a lot like hop water. Once again a nice carmel body followed by orange, grapefruit, and spiciness. Just nothing to lift the taste much.

M-- Medium bodied and light to little carbonation. Higher carbonated would really lift this well. A little watery in the front but after that pretty decent. Lots of overripe orange and grapefruit in mid and back. Finishes with bitter orange and grapefruit peel.

O-- Workable, but not as good as other IPA's out there. Carbonation would seriously work with this as would just add life to this. Flavor profile is right but just missing something to make this zing. (1,114 characters)

S: Grapefruit, herbal smells, lots of citrus, caramel sweetness, somewhat "dank". Smells balanced, but I have a feeling it will be on the hoppy side the more it warms. A few boozy notes. 4

T: Malty sweetness followed by a huge herbal bitterness, definitely a unique hop profile. Citrus is there but subdued, more herbal. Has an interesting mint flavor at the end that I've noticed in other Scandinavian beers. Caramel sweetness, but underlying huge herbal bitterness. Very enjoyable. 4

Pours a burnished amber colour with dense beige head, modest size with really nice webs of lacing clinging to the glass. Slow bead won't revive the steadily-sinking head that is now a nice creamy crown. Pretty good. Everything's where it should be.

Smells interesting. Quite dry and fruity but somehow lacking. A weak fruit flavour with some blackberry and apple notes, slight mustiness and some cakey malt on the back. But yeah, pleasant as it is I find it a bit lacking.

Taste is quite malty, a lot of deep caramel notes with English toffee and a slight tartness on the mid, slight fruit notes with some tart apple and then a slightly metallic hop bitterness that isn't particularly strong and is actually met again by malty sweetness on the finish. Has a slight boozey character late, but I find the whole palate still falls a bit short; there's almost a hole in the midst of the palate, even though there's flavour all the way through. A bit of a tang on there, but it lacks boldness, and courage. Courage tastes good.

Yeah, nice swilly texture, pretty full with nice viscosity. Probably the best part of this beer is the mouthfeel.

But it's good drinking. It's lacking heart, and falls a bit short on flavour but certainly smooth and sessionable. (1,255 characters)